The Goldman Sachs Group Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by equities researchers at The Goldman Sachs Group in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $95.00 target price on the coffee company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $85.00. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 2.07% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Starbucks from $103.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Argus raised shares of Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wall Street Zen lowered Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Starbucks from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Starbucks from $84.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Starbucks has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.96.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $93.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,288,032 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,016,410. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.84. The company has a market capitalization of $105.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.00. Starbucks has a 1 year low of $71.55 and a 1 year high of $117.46.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The coffee company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.10). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 44.97% and a net margin of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $8.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Starbucks

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital & Planning LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital & Planning LLC now owns 12,039 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after purchasing an additional 3,483 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $16,126,000 after buying an additional 81,952 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at $62,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Starbucks by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,818 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,181,000 after acquiring an additional 5,877 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth $548,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.